IRI found that while more people were buying Halloween costumes – with a 25% rise in Halloween dress up sales – sweet sales for the season were on the decline.
UK Halloween confectionery sales in supermarkets for the weeks ending 1 November 2014 were £11.5m ($18.2m) compared to £14m ($22.1m) last year, according to IRI data.
Popcorn replacement?
“My initial thoughts are that popcorn sales are up, which could be a substitute,” Tim Eales, strategic insight director at IRI told ConfectioneryNews.
“Also bargain stores sell a lot of these sorts of things very cheaply, so this is a possible explanation. And with the growth of ‘dressing up/costumes’ people are perhaps trying to keep the overall cost down and cutting back on confectionery.”
Overall market and US forecast
The Halloween confectionery slump came as the overall UK sweets and gums market over the same period grew 0.6% to £83.4m ($132m).
The US National Confectioners Association (NCA) has yet to report US Halloween confectionery sales for 2014, but last month told this site that it was expecting a 1.8% rise on last year to $2.5bn.